Side Mission Ideas?!?

[Stevushka]

Hey all, as I'm working on my game, The Adventures Of Todd: A School RPG, I've hit a wall!

The problem is, I can't think of any more side missions! (I only have 2-3 atm)

For those of you that don't know, TAT:ASRPG is the story of a boy named Todd, as he goes through childhood and adolescence to discover who he is and how he fits into society, while fighting evil classmates, depression, and more, alongside his life-long friend, Alex. It's all fun and games until you grow up. TAT:ASRPG is set in the school setting, spanning from Kindergarten through High School.

Now that you're all up to speed, I need help coming up with ideas for side missions!

I would like the side missions to all be somewhat school related, while being as funny and ridiculous as possible, and they also have to be independent from other parts of the game (no influence on the rest of the game aside from maybe minor map changes). In addition, these missions will only award consumables and exclusive gear, not XP, XP is only given through the Main missions and there are little to no random encounters in the game. They can be single one-mission quests, or short 2-3 part arcs, it really doesn't matter. They can also have mini-games or puzzles; The more diverse the better (as long it's possible to do in RPG Maker of course) For example, help a student collect chewed-up gum from under desks around the school, or find someone's missing homework. (Actually those two weren't bad, I think I'll add those to the game lol). On a final note, try to come up with an achievement for your mission, with the name of the achievment, a description / flavor text, and a description of what triggers the achievement in the mission.

Here's the TL;DR guidelines for all submissions/suggestions:

• Funny/ridiculous and school related
• As independent from other elements of the game as possible
• No XP rewarded
• Rewards exclusive gear (weapons or armor), consumables, and/or currency
• Single missions or small (2-3 mission) story arcs
• Puzzles and mini-games encouraged
• Come up with achievements for your side-mission idea

Bottom line is, I need help coming up with ideas. As I've been focused on working on the plot and maps, i haven't had time to think about side-missions. So, I need your help.

At a minimum, If you contribute an idea that I put into the game, I'll make sure to at least put you in the credits under "Mission/Level Designers". And I know the proposed release date is more than a year away, but I'll give away free copies to those who come up with the best mission ideas.

So, please help me out and post your ideas in the comments below, or message them to me directly, your choice.

Thanks in advance, stay awesome everyone!

 

[Jiriki9]

Not so easy, becaause "side mission" is a very broad field. Do you primarily think of single mini-quests? Or more along quest-lines? Should they contain mini-games? Or is mini-games out for them?
I think a thing you have to think about is what player and main character benefit from the mission. Is XP gain a thing in your game? Or influence within the school? Shall there be factions or is that too complex? Are they only meant for the "real" later schools types or for kindergarten as well?

Here are some random ideas:
-Kindergarten: There is candy hidden on the cupboard, unfairly out of reach of the questgiver(s). Can you find a way to gain it - without the adults recognizing too early? THis would be a "moving objects" around mission with a little "quick stealth" aspect. Goal would be to get the objects to the cupboard in the right order (highest close, smallest far).Part of the reward might be candy (which mayhaps you can use to influence someone else?)
-Primary school: Prank Parade (Side-Quest-Line). Well, simple enough. You are challenged to a series of pranks, which get more absurd during the process. Success makes you popular with other pupils, but being discovered will surely make you unpopular with the teachers. There might be some items waiting in the quests as well.
-High School: The Shy Admirer. Well, there is tht guy who likes that girl...but he is just too shy to do ANYTHING. You have to get him a date with the girl of his dreams. There are a lot of ways to handle such a quest and I would advise to offer at least two different ways (f.e. working on his appearance and courage so he can do it itself; tricking through the situation; or talk the girl into it). In the end, they both will be grateful.
-High School: Festival organizer. (Side-QUest-Line). You can become staff member of the festival commitee and organize school festivals up to prom night. If you do good decisions for promotion, food, music and decoration, it will be great and your reputation raised. If not...you are out of the committee sooner or later and everyone knows just how booooring your parties are.

Just a few ideas, maybe some are usable for you.

 

[Stevushka]

Not so easy, becaause "side mission" is a very broad field. Do you primarily think of single mini-quests? Or more along quest-lines? Should they contain mini-games? Or is mini-games out for them?
I think a thing you have to think about is what player and main character benefit from the mission. Is XP gain a thing in your game? Or influence within the school? Shall there be factions or is that too complex? Are they only meant for the "real" later schools types or for kindergarten as well?

Here are some random ideas:
-Kindergarten: There is candy hidden on the cupboard, unfairly out of reach of the questgiver(s). Can you find a way to gain it - without the adults recognizing too early? THis would be a "moving objects" around mission with a little "quick stealth" aspect. Goal would be to get the objects to the cupboard in the right order (highest close, smallest far).Part of the reward might be candy (which mayhaps you can use to influence someone else?)
-Primary school: Prank Parade (Side-Quest-Line). Well, simple enough. You are challenged to a series of pranks, which get more absurd during the process. Success makes you popular with other pupils, but being discovered will surely make you unpopular with the teachers. There might be some items waiting in the quests as well.
-High School: The Shy Admirer. Well, there is tht guy who likes that girl...but he is just too shy to do ANYTHING. You have to get him a date with the girl of his dreams. There are a lot of ways to handle such a quest and I would advise to offer at least two different ways (f.e. working on his appearance and courage so he can do it itself; tricking through the situation; or talk the girl into it). In the end, they both will be grateful.
-High School: Festival organizer. (Side-QUest-Line). You can become staff member of the festival commitee and organize school festivals up to prom night. If you do good decisions for promotion, food, music and decoration, it will be great and your reputation raised. If not...you are out of the committee sooner or later and everyone knows just how booooring your parties are.

Just a few ideas, maybe some are usable for you.

Thanks Jiriki9, I didn't think to be more specific lol
I'm going to update my request and give a little more detail.

I was really only looking for single side missions, but I'd be down to include very short arcs too if I can. I think I really like the idea of the prank parade and the shy admirer, and I'll try to use those first.

 

[Psycoris]

Recess mini game for middle school or elementary.
I could see a playground map transforming into an onscreen dungeon with lava and obstacles that kids imagine. Playing "catch the goblin" aka tag. Different outcomes depending on who he catches. Could even set it up to track number of times he caught a certain character for different rewards if made as a repeatable side quest.

 

[Nemo]

Three words: Haunted highschool hijinks!

There could be a supposed haunted place, object, or person in the high school, you could have the pcs try to unravel the mystery! Bonus points for making the reward a really poignant story moment.

 

[Stevushka]

Three words: Haunted highschool hijinks!

There could be a supposed haunted place, object, or person in the high school, you could have the pcs try to unravel the mystery! Bonus points for making the reward a really poignant story moment.

That's an interesting Idea! Although I'd hate to ruin the alliterated name, the way I have the story set up, it might actually work best in Middle School. But I'll see what I can do, thanks for the idea!